Woops...

 I stand corrected.  A sharp eyed reader has pointed out to me that I misspelled Chile in the draft of my Christmas poem that I shared in this blog a few days ago.

I appreciate the correction and want to make sure that everyone knows that we traveled to Chile in South America in February.   While we experienced some interestingly rough seas on that cruise, we did not find ourselves afloat in a sea of chili.  

We were, at one point, afloat in a sea of ice chunks (baby ice burgs?) with a view of a beautiful glacier.  It was definitely chilly there.

The moral of this silly story is eat your chili while it's hot, wear a sweater if you're chilly, and visit Chile when you get the chance. 

Restaurant review...

 Today I took a friend to lunch and then to do some Christmas shopping.  I expected things to be busy three Saturdays before Christmas and it was, but everyone was polite and cheerful.  

We had decided to try a new place for lunch.  I should have know better.  Fort Wayne citizens love to try out new restaurants.  If their first experience is good the place will probably stay in business, if not, people will go back to their tried and true favorites and the new restaurant will fail.  I'm pretty sure that Bubba's 33 is going to succeed, although it has only been open for three weeks. 

It is part of a national chain which helps I think.  About the waiting, their organization was interesting.  When we went into the restaurant there were lots of people waiting to be seated so I knew we would have a wait but my friend really wanted to eat there so I gave the host my name and cell phone number.  He dialed the number right away to make sure it worked, said it would be 15 minutes to a half hour, and suggested that we wait in my car.  My friend wanted to just wait on one of the benches in front of the restaurant but, after being assured by the host that, once I was called, we would have plenty of time to come in from the car, and considering that it was 25 degrees out, I insisted that we wait in the car. 

As it turned out, the wait was only 15 minutes, we were seated promptly when we came in and it just got better from there.  The ambiance would not have been my first choice (TV sets all around the perimeter broadcasting sports shows) but I did appreciate the display of emblems of all our armed forces. Our waiter was excellent, the menu was extensive (I recommend the loaded tater tots as a side) the food, advertised as made from scratch, came in a very reasonable amount of time and was served piping hot.  The manager stopped by to make sure we were being well taken care of.  We assured him we were.  

All in all it was an excellent eating experience.  You should give Bubba's a try.

it's finished

well, almost...

I have completed my Christmas poem; Paul likes it. Now we just need to print a bunch of copies and mail them out.  Yes, we are hopelessly old fashioned and send our annual greetings by snail mail.  

Here's the rough draft if you don't want to wait for the mail:

From Penguins to Pyramids

And all along life’s journey

We continue to travel well,

together.

In Egypt Paul rode a camel

And we soared in a hot air balloon.

Visits to tombs and temples

Filled our days.

On our South America cruise

We went around Cape Horn island, twice

Saw hundreds of penguins

Cruised through ice floes,

Saw glaciers,

Visited Ushuaia,

(the southern most city in the world)

Uruguay, Argentina and Chili.

At home we enjoy family love

And eagerly await the first great grandchild.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU and may your life also be

blessed with wonders.

We do plan to add some pictures, but you'll have to wait to see those.  There needs to be some reason to open the envelope.

It's timd...

 I'm posting a picture of my good old Christmas tree, fully decorated and ready for the family gatherings to remind me that there is still work to be done.  I have ordered most of my gifts but there is another job to be done - specifically writing my annual poem.  Years ago, many, many years ago I decided that I would write a short poem each Christmas, highlighting the year just past.  I made this decision because I was so rushed at holiday time that I didn't have time to read the long detailed newsletters I would receive from friends and assumed others were just as rushed.

The problem is that this has been a very busy year.  We've traveled around South America and to Egypt and done a lot of living in between.  That's a lot to squeeze into a little poem.  I do have a working title "From Penguins to Pyramids."  Stay tuned or check your mail.

Finland

 We have an unusual amount of snow on the ground for this time of year in Fort Wayne.  It's also very cold.  I'm reminded of a trip a friend and I took to Finland a few years ago.  It was January and we were on the trip in hopes of seeing the Northern Lights.  

Finland was a fascinating country with much to be admired about its government and life style.  We spent some time in Helsinki where we watched some people jump into the cold water of the bay in their swimsuits then climb out and run around, I guess 'til they were good and cold, and then dry off.  Not something I was remotely tempted to try.  Our tour guide proudly showed off their new city library which did have the best communal restroom I have ever used.  Otherwise, all of the features they pointed out were similar to our main Allen County library which is pretty spectacular.  Of course I didn't say that. 

After some time in the city we travelled farther north to the Finnish area of Lapland where we rode in a reindeer pulled sleigh (the coldest ride of my life), tried our hands at dog sledding, met the real Santa Claus and slept in glass dome roofed cabins.  The idea was that if the Northern Lights started shining late at night we would be able to see them from our beds.  It didn't happen but the saunas helped to make up for our disappointment and the stars were amazing.

I'm seeing this same friend for lunch tomorrow and I will remind her of our Finland trip.  She, unlike me, loves cold weather so I know she will remember it fondly.   

the wish book...

 I spent some time on line today looking at possible Christmas gifts for our youngest grandchild.  It was sometimes frustrating as often clicking on a button that I thought would take me to exactly what I wanted whisked me into a whole other category of items for sale with flashing orange signs ordering me to sign up now!

So many items for sale and so many great bargains if you just sign up for a (presumably life time) membership deal.  I resisted, persevered, found what I wanted, and successfully placed my order. 

I found myself longing though for our wonderful wish books.  Those big thick catalogs from Sears Roebuck and Montgomery Ward.  The original mail order system.  Every fall the wish books would arrive, two inch thick catalogs full of clothing for men, women and children, household goods, tools and, most wonderfully, toys.

My brother and I would lie on the living room floor paging through those catalogs, marveling at the toys available and letting our parents know what our dearest wishes were.  We knew we couldn't have everything we wanted but it was such fun to think about the wonderous choices.  

There was something very satisfying about turning page after page to see new marvels revealed - doll babies and doll houses with little people families, cap pistols (two guns in holsters were the best) and cowboy hats, Lincoln logs and Erector sets and bicycles and train sets.  

I hope that shopping on line is just as satisfying for kids today, I really do.   

aging gracefully????

 Today is December 1.  December is my birth month.  Today is also a Monday.  My spouse and I tutor on Monday afternoons.  Actually we didn't today because of the weather.

But thinking about age and tutoring reminded me of one of my favorite interactions with a student.

I started tutoring ten years ago.  The first youngster who I tutored was a lively fourth grader.  After sitting in school all day, another hour of "school" was rough for him.  So we would take breaks and walk all around the building. But the reason I really remember him was for his devastating honesty.  

During our very first meeting as we were getting to know each other, I told him that I was 70 years old. The conversation went like this 

Me "I'm 70 years old. I know that must sound really old to you."

Him, as he laid his hand gently on my arm, "I don't mean to be rude but you look about a hundred."